The P Series
by miz
Summary: A string colection of oneshots. There is character death warning. AU Crossover with XMen. Orignally, the first chapter of this series was known as The Price.
1. Prices

**Title**: Prices   
**Author**: miz   
**E-Mail**: animeskuldyahoo.com   
**Rating**: G   
**Summary**: She stands as a silent observer. Character death.   
**Category**: Romance, Angst.   
**Disclaimer**: I don't own any of the characters or the series. They're owned by Marvel or by Joss Whedon.   
**Archive**: DDFH, WRFA and anywhere that would accept this, with prior notification.   
**Feedback**: Please give feedback. I love any kind of feedback  
**Spoilers/Continuity**: Crossover Alternate Universe. First part in what I would call The "P" Series.   
**Author's Note**: The best of thanks to Devil Doll for helping me beta an earlier draft. This use to be a one shot known as The Price, but now with inspiration and itching from my head, I've decided to make this story into a series and changed the title. Now greatest hugs and kisses of thanks to my newest beta LucyJekyll.   
  
What a price she paid.   
  
There was a grand funeral for her…but did anyone realize the sacrifice she committed in trying to cure herself, giving up her body for something that she regretted?   
  
Instead of being a life participant, she became a silent observer.   
  
This wasn't the best solution she wanted. When Spike had come offering her an opportunity, she took it, not knowing what the result would imply. Granted, she regained the ability to touch but paid for it with the burden of bestowing upon others a different touch.   
  
The hunger grew inside her, and she knew that she must leave until the next full moon.   
  
Her eyes stared with pain at the man she would never have.   
  
In life, she had desired him, had thought that if she regained the ability to touch, she would have him. Since then, she has realized that will never happen.   
  
The moonlight glinted off of her teeth as she bit down on her own lip, drawing stolen blood.   
  
From a distance, he still looked the same as he had when she'd fallen in love with him, but on closer examination and with the assistance of her enhanced vision, there were signs of gauntness.   
  
That worried her a little. The Wolverine shouldn't be losing any weight.   
  
She could go to him only in his dreams, and she didn't like the thought of going that route. Logan was a very private man and wouldn't like to be disturbed.   
  
She decided to wait for the next full moon. If she didn't notice any change by then, she would have to go to him.   
  
-----   
  
Time passed, and the season slowly grew colder in the Westchester region. The individual formerly known as Rogue came back to her old habitat.   
  
Any observer would notice the change in her appearance. She no longer wore gloves. Instead, she wore a skin-baring outfit, showing as much as was decent. To others, it might be two-bit hooker garb, but Rogue somehow wore the outfit with an ethereal ease.

She no longer felt the extremes of the seasons. Her once rosy skin was deadly pale, and she relied on rouge to provide the illusion of health.   
  
She had become a true hunter of the night, no longer able to see the sun. This was the price she paid when she sacrificed her body to become a vampire.   
  
But for now her only concern was checking up on Logan. He was the one thing that she wasn't able to leave when she became a vampire. Somehow, some way or another, she always came back to check up on him.   
  
The years had been kind to the place known as Xavier's Institute. With the government no longer on their backs, Xavier's had prospered.   
  
Jean and Scott had gotten married. Ororo and Xavier were companions for life. All her old friends had gotten married or settled into their lives.   
  
Remy, for example, was with Jubilee, and they made a great couple. Kitty and Bobby had realized their need for each other as well—the human ice and the shadow, destined for one another in their own way.   
  
The only one who hadn't changed was Logan. When she'd been alive, she hadn't realized the depth of his devotion to her.   
  
She didn't think anyone, much less the Wolverine himself, knew that he had more than fraternal feelings for her.   
  
Quickly, she stole onto the patio off Logan's room and looked cautiously inside. The sight of Logan tossing and turning in a nightmare made her reel back a little. She didn't know why he was having nightmares this particular night, but thinking to soothe the man she loved, Rogue quickly willed herself to be invisible. She crept next to him and laid a cool hand on his sweating forehead.   
  
But just as she laid her hand upon the Wolverine's forehead, his eyes snapped open, and he awoke. He struck out with his claws; they impacted on her flesh.   
  
Gasping in pain, Rogue pulled back, and her pierced flesh instantly healed itself, sealing off the needed blood. She nearly fell to the floor but righted herself instantly, knowing that she had to get out of the room.   
  
Silently, she sneaked around Wolverine and left. What she didn't realize was that although she had enhanced healing, some of the blood from her wound had dripped to the floor.   
  
-----   
  
Even in the depth of his nightmare, Logan felt the presence in the room and the cool hand that touched his forehead. His eyes snapped open, and he awoke, striking out with his claws. His eyes told him there was nothing there, but he felt his claws connect with something. He knew someone was in the room with him.   
  
He growled as his instincts told him that the prey had escaped. He knew he had hurt it—he could see the blood on the floor. But what was it? And why was it in his room?   
  
Lowering himself to the floor, he sniffed at the blood, puzzled. It had the decaying smell of death on a pig's carcass. Why would pig's blood be on the floor?   
  
But then he smelled another scent, so faint it felt as if he had dreamt it. It was the same scent that Marie had worn, the sweet vanilla fragrance that he hadn't smelled in a long time.   
  
After she died, he had shunned everything that reminded him of her. That scent shouldn't be in his room, so why now...why this scent...?   
  
Letting out a great roar, he turned around and angrily pounded the nearest wall, breaking through the wood and creating a splintered hole.   
  
-----   
  
Outside the window, Rogue realized the evidence she had left behind. Though her pierced flesh had instantly healed itself and she had fled the room as quickly as she could, she had left blood behind. And Logan knew she had been there.   
  
She cried silent blood tears as she was drawn to the agony of the man. She didn't want to be a participant…she was an observer.   
  
That was the price she paid.   
  
Sensing Spike nearby, she stole back into the darkness, following the vampire in compliance.   
  
_Fin._


	2. Pact

**Title**: Pact   
**Author**: miz   
**E-mail**: animeskuldyahoo.com   
**Category**: Drama.   
**Rating**: PG   
**Disclaimer**: Mr. Whedon and Marvel own the characters, not I.  
**Archive**: DDFH and anywhere else who I have to know about.   
**Author's notes**: Sequel to Prices. Second story in The "P" Series. Feedback is very, very much appreciated. Greatest thanks to LucyJekyll for being such a great beta and friend! Thanks.   
  
The city below the female vampire was teeming with murmured activity, despite the falling snow.   
  
Rogue had scaled onto one of the numerous buildings in Gotham after she ran away from Westchester earlier that evening.   
  
Now she stood, not feeling the frigid weather around her while she stared numbly up at the moon. This was what she was doing when he found her.   
  
"Love…you okay?"   
  
She slowly looked away from the moon, before turning toward the voice of the wiry figure.   
  
Inwardly, she still felt a tinge of unhappiness, but outwardly, she smiled a shaky smile for her sire.   
  
Her sire gave her a knowing look, as he stepped closer to his childe.   
  
Spike, a.k.a. William the Bloody or the Slayer of Slayers, a master vampire, said chidingly, "You should stop visiting the bloke, you know. This isn't healthy, pet—weeping your undead life over someone who will die sooner or later."   
  
"I'm fine, Spike. It's just for old time's sake. Why do you think that I'm crying over him? He's just part of the past that I left behind me the day that I died," was the reply that his childe shot out.   
  
He gave a sigh, breathing in unnecessary air. "Understandable. Remember that it was you begging to be turned into a vampire. I warned you that being a vampire wasn't easy. The world's a big journey, and you want to go hurl yourself off a building. I'm over two hundred bloody years old, and I don't think that life is that boring.   
  
"You're lucky that when I turned you, I still had that witch's spell and some sense of sanity. Will's spell retained and preserved most of your original soul. Otherwise, you would've eventually turned into any old bloodsucking fiend—corrupt from drinking blood.   
  
"Now, that's considering the fact that some humans are just happy meals on legs. But sometimes you're as big a poof as Peaches. Why can't you be evil like me?"   
  
Rogue retorted, "You were the one who bite me."   
  
"All right, this might make me even more of a poof than Peaches. Doll, want to accept my offer to help you out a bit after we're done our mission in the city? Then we could go back to Sunnyhell."   
  
"Help, as in how? I can't tell them that I've turned into the undead. They would pity me because of the extremes I've committed. Like you said before, I can't ever regret the fact that you've turned me into the undead. It's been about fifteen years now. I'm content with not letting the X-Men know. It's only Logan who I'm worried about."   
  
"Well, tell them to sod off. You're only revealing your existence to that Wolverine of yours."   
  
"Maybe…I'll consider it. But you know that I won't allow you to help me. We always have this conversation, every year since you turned me. I'm content to watch from afar."   
  
"Okay, have it your way, then. Have you fed yet? There are some fresh bags," offered Spike, pulling out a blood bag from his duster.   
  
Rogue nodded and then asked, "Is it pig's blood?"   
  
"No…it's fresh type AB-negative blood."   
  
"That's expensive…. Since when did you decide to splurge money on fresh AB-negative packaged blood?"   
  
"Since I realized that Peaches is paying, so I'm spending as much money as I can. Besides, in a city like this, nobody gives a rat's ass what you're purchasing as long as you have the cash," said the vampire cheekily.   
  
"Forget I even asked, then. Anyhow, what assignment has Angel commissioned us for, and how much money are we going to receive?"   
  
"Peaches told us to contact this man and then go from there until the completion of this job. We're going to be getting about fifty million," said Spike, holding up the man's picture.   
  
When she saw the picture, Rogue's eyes widened. She was looking into the face of an older-looking Charles Xavier. Suddenly, everything started to click into place, as she looked with shock at her sire.   
  
"Spike, we're going to be completing a job dealing with mutants."   
  
"I know, and I also remember that you were once a pupil of his. Hence, maybe my advice for you this time will be well heeded. Come on, pet, let's go. I've already set up a meeting with him. It won't look good for Peaches if we're late."

"Why don't you stop calling him Peaches and call him Angel?" Rogue interjected, as she referred to her grand-sire.   
  
"The day I stop calling him Peaches will be the day he's not a big poof. Now come on."   
  
"Wait," called out Rogue, before she morphed into her vampire features and pulled on a hat from her pocket. She then explained, "I would rather people not question why I am even there. There's still the white streak in my hair, you know."   
  
"Suit yourself." Spike shrugged before running to jump off the building.   
  
Rogue instantly followed, and ten minutes later, they reached the mansion.   
  
After walking past the gate and up to the front door, Spike rang the doorbell.   
  
Inside the mansion, all the inhabitants quickly awoke when they heard the doorbell ring. Running down the hall, Scott and Jean quickly went to check if the professor was all right, while Ororo and Gambit went to check the security. Kitty, Bobby, Jubilee, and John went to check on the children in the mansion.   
  
In a few minutes, the mansion was bustling with activity, while Spike waited outside with Rogue.   
  
After waiting for another few minutes, Spike looked over to Rogue and rolled his neck once to crack the bones. Then he walked over and kicked the door open. The door broke and slammed open. Rogue slowly walked in after Spike. There was no need to wait for an invitation, since the mansion was a school.   
  
Inside, the front hall was deserted of people for the moment. Although Rogue then felt a presence and quickly pushed Spike away from harm as she kicked upward, spinning into a roundhouse kick.   
  
The figure she kicked leapt back and snarled. Rogue paused for a second as she watched the figure be revealed as Logan. Her instinct for survival kicked in, and she quickly bared her fangs, snarling back.   
  
"Who are you two, and what business do you have here at the mansion?" growled Logan.   
  
"We're here to see Professor Xavier, and he's expecting us," said Spike smoothly, as he motioned Rogue backward and pulled out a white envelope with Xavier's penmanship.   
  
Rogue decided to keep silent but kept her eyes on Logan, as she heard the sounds of the other inhabitants gathering.   
  
Hearing the whir of Xavier's wheelchair, she nearly lost her vampiric visage as she saw the face of her old teacher. Somehow, in her absence, he had become frailer, and his age was starting to show.   
  
"It's all right, Logan. Now, because of the inopportune time, I would have to assume that you both are agents from Angel's Investigations. Mr. Angel has already apprised me of the situation. Since he couldn't come personally, he said he would send two other very good agents," said Charles, as he looked inquisitively at the two figures.   
  
He had, during this time, tried to read their minds to confirm their identities but was surprised when he realized that he couldn't. Something blocked him from having the ability to do so, and he couldn't explain why.   
  
Spike looked knowingly at the professor when he realized what he was trying to do. "Now, chap, I don't mean any disrespect, but I know what you're trying to do, and I can assure you that you'll never be able to accomplish that task. My assistant and I are not day people. Spike's my name, and she's Rogue."   
  
The professor and the senior staff were startled at the strange-featured female's name. Most of the staff, with the exception of Logan and Xavier, looked closely at the female for the first time. However, for some reason they couldn't see her face and hair clearly.   
  
"Right, Mr. Spike. Someone show Mr. Spike and Ms. Rogue to my office. Ororo, Scott, Logan, come into my office as well. I'll explain what my commission is, and then these people will be on the task force to accompany you."   
  
"I'm sure we don't need you to assign us a task force. Rogue and I prefer to work alone," interjected Spike, as his eyes flashed yellow.   
  
"Granted…but when you hear what I'm searching for, you'll see why I really insist that you have a task force," replied Xavier.   
  
"Why not just tell us the job to be done, so then my associate and I will be on our way? Kinda pressed for time, we're not here for tea."   
  
"As you wish. The job may be difficult to complete, but I would like you to help me find some vampires. I would like to document them. According to what I found, however; vampires are known to be violent. I need to find out what the difference is between vampires and humans, as compared to humans and mutants."   
  
Spike replied with a gleam in his eyes, "Oh, the task's not difficult at all; it will be very easy. Send word to Angel when you decide to come to Sunnydale with your entourage. There use to be an Inferno del Boca there, but it's been closed a long time ago; however, there's still some specimens of vampires living there. When you get to Sunnydale, you can see and examine the vampires you want. Now, would you look at the time? If you would excuse us—come on, love."

Rogue had, up to this point, remained placid, until she heard what Spike said. She nearly vocalized her opinion but chose to remain silent, promising herself that she would be very vocal about her opinions later. There was no way that she would even be around. Because suddenly this trip to L.A. seemed to be more and more promising. This would be an excuse to go see her grand-sire. She turned her back on the X-Men and melted back into her human visage to walk out the door, unknowing of the plans made for her during this meeting.   
  
The meeting had occurred in less then twenty minutes, so Spike and Rogue boarded the personal plane that Angel had arranged several hours before the sun rose.   
  
The two vampires left behind a befuddled group of X-Men, as Jean turned toward Xavier with questions in her eyes. Xavier shook his head as he started to turn his wheelchair around. He intended to go to Cerebro, but before he could even do that, the phone rang….   
  
-----   
  
"Spike, I want to take a break. Go see grand-pappy and the others in the city of angels. Can I do that?" asked Rogue coyly, while hanging onto his arm in the darkness of the plane. The walls were covered with a special black plastic coating, and the windows of the plane were covered with a special glass that reflected any light off of it. It provided a protective shield for any vampires.   
  
Of course, it cost Angel a pretty penny or two to buy this plane, but he was still the corporate head of Wolfram & Hart's firm after more then fifteen years. It was very useful for traveling to other countries to do business.   
  
As for the rest of the Angel Investigation crew, Gunn and Fred had married, much to the amusement of Angel, who had choked during the wedding ceremony. Wesley was on a month's vacation in England. Pretty much everyone was still around—a little older but still in the action scene, though certainly not playing the active role they used to years earlier. They assisted Slayers whenever possible with research.   
  
Oz and Faith were still fighting the battle. She was still an active residential slayer in the outskirts of L.A. Faith had came to Angel several years back, when it was revealed that she was going to live for a long time, simply for the reason that she was one of the original slayers before Willow performed her spell. No longer was she out for revenge after the death of Buffy. Instead she was engaged to Robin and was the best of pals with Oz, who decided to not get married and stayed a single bachelor.   
  
Willow was currently single and training to be a watcher, so she and Giles were in England with Wesley. Xander had married Anya.   
  
Everything in Sunnyhell was different without Buffy, especially with the Hellmouth closing and popping up elsewhere, but Spike was unwilling to move away. There were just too many memories and promises that he had given to his lost love. For one thing, watching over the little bit, Dawn, was a pleasure, as she had grown up and was now a writer.   
  
He got to be with Buffy again, after the powers that be decided that he had been in heaven for much too long and threw him back down. So now, the vampire was left with wonderment at what the bleeding hell was so good about heaven. Only that everything that was ever evil and changed for good became human in a place where heavenly fat cherubs had actually "chirped."   
  
The brief time that Spike then had with Buffy was the happiest he ever had. His slayer loved him and everything was fine for him, until cancer once again struck. The sickness that had taken Joyce away also took away Buffy some fifteen years ago.   
  
In his grief, he had gone off to get sloshing drunk and had rescued Rogue, and then, because of some unforeseen events, he turned her into a vampire like him. However, it was with the help of Rogue that Spike was able to get over his grief. In memory of Buffy, he bought back the house on Revello Drive and had it decorated the way Joyce and Buffy had it when they were living there. The place wasn't inhabited because the memories were too vivid of Buffy, so it served as a thinking place for Spike. He was still living in the crypt. Rogue lived with him, with her own room and her own personal closet of skeletons to regret.

But right now, he looked over to see his childe looking at him with pleading eyes.   
  
"No can do, pet," said Spike in a fake cheerful voice. "I doubt Peaches would even want you around. He did specifically pay us to do this job, and it wouldn't be interesting if I did it alone. We could go and scare people. Wouldn't that be fun? We could go to the Bronze for some slumming and observations. I think Nibblet would be there this weekend with her new boy-toy. Don't know what the hell she finds in those bleeding jackarses. Now, didn't you tell me last time that you wanted to see the bit soon? Besides, I'm sure she'll want to see you," said Spike deftly, putting his arms behind his head.   
  
"If you're going to make me stay, just know that this is an unwilling compromise for me, and if they see my true face, I'm going to deny my former existence until the proverbial cows come home. Send the same warnings over to Angel and the others. You all stay out of my business, you hear, sugah…" replied Rogue with a gleam in her eye.   
  
"Whatever you say, sweets…. Now get some sleep. There's several hours until we get back home."   
  
Rogue sighed but didn't go to sleep immediately. She stared off into the distance, her mind recounting old and new memories.   
  
A few weeks past, Rogue had spent some time with Dawn and enjoyed teasing Spike about Dawn's new boyfriend, who she found to be cute and courteous.   
  
Notification was given to Angel, but there was no word from Charles until a few weeks later. In Spike and Rogue's crypt, they got an email. In the contents of the email were the time and place for meeting up with the X-Men—the Bronze at eight.   
  
Rogue immediately said that she wouldn't go and that she would see Spike in a few days. Grabbing a stake, before Spike could say a word about her going, she bolted and disappeared into the night.   
  
Spike shrugged and called the familiar number of someone who would be a good candidate for picking them up.   
  
It would please Spike to see the moron scream like a little girl when he saw the wolf guy and the eye guy, because he still acted like a twit when faced with dangerous situations. Maybe Anya would finally see the light and dump Xander for a wild shag session with someone from the X-Men.   
  
Seeing the time, he knew that it would take a while for them to get here. They probably wouldn't be that tired when they got here, so he would meet them at the Bronze and show them a little demonstration afterwards. Pulling on his trusty duster and slipping a red dress into his pocket, he picked up a pair of red heels and a small leather jacket. He would have to find Rogue first, though. With that thought in his mind and her scent in his nose, Spike walked out into the night, whistling a Billy Idol song.   
  
He sped along until he finally reached the docks. There he saw Rogue, facing up against a large, ugly-looking demon. Spike watched as his childe beheaded the thing with a piece of rusted metal, before he walked out and heard her say, "I'm so very sorry to smell you, but you really stink like hell dances on tap shoes, and that just can't continue, so goodbye."   
  
"Bravo, little one. Come on, we have to go to the Bronze."   
  
"Nuh uh. Didn't I tell you that I didn't want to go?" replied Rogue, shaking her head frantically.   
  
"Yes, you will go, otherwise what would I say to Peaches? He'll want a damn report of this, and you think I want to do reports? Besides, who else do I know who would type up a good report other than you? Come on, sweets, for your old daddy. You wouldn't want me begging you, right? Because then I'd rather stake you and get it over with," said Spike, looking at his childe with eyes that screamed, 'Say yes, unless you want something really bad to happen.'

"Why is it that I always have to listen to what you say?" countered Rogue in a long-suffering tone of voice.   
  
"Because you don't want your daddy to make a fool out of himself, that's why. Now come on, put this outfit on," said Spike, happily pulling out the dress.   
  
"Since when did I listen to you concerning my wardrobe, and since when did you decide to paw through my clothes?" snapped Rogue, snatching the three articles out of his hands.   
  
"You left the dress out, and I find red very suited for you now. Reminds me of the delicious and bland blood we have in the fridge. That's the one thing I don't like about being on the good side—no fresh food. But, I think that once we get the money, we're going to be changing our diets to getting fresh human blood in blood bags and enjoy the luxury for a while," replied Spike, licking his lips.   
  
Rogue sighed and tried to quell her hunger at the mention of blood. She hadn't eaten much today, and it was exhausting to fight with that demon.   
  
She stripped down while Spike was talking and put on the red dress. The thing was one of the newest things she had, and it was a skintight ensemble that showed a good amount of cleavage and bare skin. The dress went to her calves, and her shoulders were bare, as a piece of black string was tied around her neck. She shrugged on the leather jacket and indicated to Spike that she was ready to go.   
  
She said, "At the Bronze, you want to go get sloshed or something? Somehow this night for me doesn't seem to be so hot, and I want the comforts of being in someone's arms tonight, so I'd rather it was yours…."   
  
Spike only smiled at her and placed an arm around his childe as they walked off.   
  
They reached the Bronze in a matter of minutes the X-Men still weren't there yet. Spike and Rogue walked over to the bar, where they order several bottles of liquor.   
  
When they were onto their third shot of whiskey, the X-Men showed up with Xander and Anya. Still unnoticed by the group, Rogue pushed Spike in their direction, while staring off into space, drinking her drink. An idea was formulating in her head for a good cover for her to deny that she was the Rogue they had known.   
  
"Hello…birds and ducks," said Spike, still holding his glass shot. He downed it and smiled flirtatiously at Ororo, while he leaned down to peck Anya on the cheek.   
  
"Hey, Spike. Now where's Rogue? I wanted to ask her if she wants to have a threesome," she asked bluntly.   
  
Xander could only gape in horror as Spike burst out laughing. "Rogue's around, but Anya, why don't you stop trying to shock your husband? He looks like he's about to have a heart attack. Pleasant thought as that may be, I wouldn't want to wish that on a wuss like him."   
  
Xander started to sputter in outrage as Spike turned to the X-Men. He asked, "What service can I do for you ducks, and where's the good ol' prof?"   
  
"The professor didn't come along. He told us to complete the mission," supplied Jean.   
  
"Right, luv, and…."   
  
"It's very simple. Just allow us to see vampires and take pictures," said Ororo.   
  
"Okay, but vamps don't show on photo, if you want to know. Gotta have a good artist or see for yourselves," replied Spike, placing his hands behind his head and lounging against the wall behind him.   
  
"All right, but now can we go and see these creatures of the night, then?" spoke Scott.   
  
"Can do…but why don't we wait? Relax and embrace the entertainment of the club."   
  
Spike ordered the X-Men drinks, and they sat there for a bit.   
  
Suddenly, arms wrapped themselves around Spike's neck as a voice purred in his ear, "Wanna dance, the old fashioned way…?"   
  
Spike grinned as he turned around to see Rogue looking coyly at him. She gave small waves to Anya and Xander as they both waved back, and Xander quickly covered up his wife's mouth.   
  
The X-Men sat mutely in stunned shock as they beheld a woman who looked exactly like Rogue, down to the last lock of hair.   
  
Logan could only croak out, "Marie…" while Spike said, "All right, pet. Old fashioned it is."   
  
Extending his arm, Spike offered it to his childe while they went to the center of the dance floor. Rogue ignored the X-Men as she placed her plan into action.   
  
Placing her arms at a distance from Spike's hands, she started to sway with him. As the tempo of the song [1] turned from slow to fast, he suddenly grabbed her and pulled her close as she leaned back. She leaned back toward him and licked her sire's nose. When he got close enough, she licked his neck. She knew that her actions didn't mean anything to her sire, as they swayed and dipped suggestively in time to the music   
  
Spike growled playfully and twirled Rogue around the floor, as she became a flash of red with the speed with which he was turning her. [2]

The rest of the patrons, seeing their dancing ability, quickly cleared the dance floor, and in time, they were the only couple left.   
  
When the music finally ended, everyone in the bar with the exception of the X-Men burst into an explosion of applause and whistles.   
  
Rogue quickly kissed Spike on the lips as she pulled away. She went straight to collect her jacket from the bartender, who grinned and gave her a can of beer to go. Slinging the jacket on her shoulder, the vampire walked to the door, intending to leave, as she turned around and blew a kiss to her sire, unofficially abandoning him tonight.   
  
She noticed the original X-Men were present, but Kitty, Jubilee, Gambit, Bobby, and John weren't there. It was none of her concern, though, for she had completed her word to her sire about being present, and now the only thing she wanted to do was go home, take a bubble bath, and play a few melodies on her violin.   
  
Spike, when she moved in with him, had installed a state of the art bathroom and taught her how to play different instruments.   
  
Back inside the club, Logan was speechless for several minutes when he saw that the Marie look-alike was leaving. No way could there be another Rogue. She was already dead. So why was it that every sense he had was screaming that it was her, from her presence, to her hair, to nearly everything in her actions? The only difference was that this person could touch, while Rogue was known for wearing gloves; unless there was the notion of reincarnation. There was only one way to find out. Because there was no way that he would let her go before demanding who the hell she was.   
  
Marie walked outside and was walking away from the Bronze when she heard a very familiar voice. Putting on an indifferent, bored face, she turned around to face the Wolverine.   
  
"Are you speaking to me, sir?"   
  
"Who else can I be speaking to when there's no one else but us out here? Now answer me, who the hell are you?"   
  
"What do you mean, who am I? I do have a name, you know," Rogue said with a sniff.   
  
"Now what name is that, darlin'?" mocked Logan, feeling a little ache of pain.   
  
"Is that any of your business? I don't even know you, so why are you following me? Should I call the police to warn them…" she sneered, internally cursing herself.   
  
"Oh, I'm really scared."   
  
"What do you want, then?"   
  
"I want to know if you knew a girl named Marie. She looks identical to you, so I'm demanding to know why you smell like her," said Logan.   
  
Rogue was about to answer when someone grabbed her from behind. With a judo throw, she got the thing off her. She realized that these were the minions of the monster that she killed earlier. One of the minions, she noticed, was a vampire.   
  
"You will pay for what you did…" hissed one of them, while the vampire said, "You disgraced the name of vampires, Rogue. How can you call yourself one of the darkness, when you and that useless sire are too busy acting goody goody?"   
  
Rogue growled and realized her cover was blown, as Logan would probably know that she was a vampire. She snapped back to Wolverine, "Wolvie, go back in the Bronze and get Spike, and stay out of this fight."   
  
With a sound of metal sliding out, he growled, "What makes you think that I could leave you here?"   
  
"If you want to kill yourself, then don't say that I didn't warn you," she said. Then she said flippantly to the vampire, "Did I ever say that I wanted to be engaging in nothing but blood-sucking? Because to tell you the truth that's kinda boring activity for me, so don't say anything about me doing something opposite to what you're doing. If I don't find something to do, then undead life will be kinda boring."   
  
The group snarled and quickly surrounded Rogue. She did a roundhouse kick, knocking one of the minions down, and then ran to the dumpster behind the Bronze to find a piece of wood. Knowing that there was some where she had stashed them in case of emergency, she grabbed one and did a series of flips to confuse the monsters, dusting the lone vampire in the process. She got kicked in the face, though, by one of the other demons, and when she snapped back upright, Logan was shocked as he beheld the woman he fought at the mansion.   
  
Turning back to the situation at hand, Wolverine and Rogue quickly dispatched the other minions. Rogue got some bluish-colored blood on her dress.   
  
"Gross…it better not stain, otherwise Spike's paying for a new dress…. Bubbles and bath, here I come," she muttered, her vampiric features melting back into her human visage. She started to leave but was stopped by Logan's voice.   
  
"You still haven't answered my question…."   
  
"Why should I answer your question, when the person who you're looking for is obviously not me?" replied Rogue, a little angry at the questioning she was getting. If she didn't want them to know that she was the person they had known, then she'd be damned if she'd ever admit it. She had said to herself before any of them came along, so she would never let them know it was her. Seeing that her night's plans were ruined, she became snippy.   
  
Wolverine could only stare at her, as she then screamed out loud in anger. Growling, she turned away and made a move to leave, only to be pulled back by a pissed-off Logan.   
  
"Then why the fk do you smell like her, look like her, sound like her? Can you answer that?" he growled.

"Unhand me. Or do you want me to break your metal skeleton, and I'll be sure that it won't heal back?" she snarled.   
  
"If you weren't her, then how would you know that I have a metal skeleton?"   
  
"Because Peaches gave us every one of your profiles before we took this case," said a voice behind Logan and Rogue.   
  
"Spike!" called out Rogue, relieved to see her sire, Xander, and Anya. She wasn't at all pleased about the other X-Men standing behind him, though.   
  
"See, you've got your answer now. Now let go of me!" snapped Rogue, as she pulled away and walked to her sire.   
  
"Now, I see that you don't need me, since the job was done so nicely. I should have warned you about killing that demon earlier. Mighty nasty sod; had a gang, so to speak," said Spike, pulling Rogue into a comforting embrace.   
  
"If the stain doesn't come off, then you buy me a new one. All I want to do now is just go home," replied Rogue, her voice muffled by Spike's shirt.   
  
"We'll go home soon, little one, and Daddy will buy you a new dress; just got to say some words to our staring crowd now," said Spike reassuringly, as he pulled away and let his demon arise.   
  
Facing the X-Men, Spike ignored the shocked gasp from Ororo as he said, "Well, ducks and birds, you got one hot piece of authentic vampire standing before you all. Commit the features to your memories to draw onto paper, and forward all questions to Peaches. As for me and Rogue, we're going home. Just send the money from this commission to Peaches, and I bid you all a fond evening."   
  
"Hey, I didn't know that you got paid for this. How much money are we talking about here?" called out Anya, with a gleam in her eye.   
  
"Uh, sweetie, I don't think that is any of our concern," said Xander.   
  
Anya replied, "Oh, bull cocks, it's not like I want to have it or anything. Just curious, now, Rogue, if you want to clean that blood off your dress, stop by the Magic Box later, and you can buy some detergent. It's made especially for cleaning demon blood off of clothes, guaranteed to get the dirtiest of demon slime and gore from your clothes."   
  
Rogue called back, "Thanks, Anya. Spike says that with the money from this job, we could have enough money to be able to get fresh human blood bags to drink for a while. Speaking of which, I'll see you later. Spike, I want to go home and eat. I'm hungry."   
  
All the while this conversation was taking place, the X-Men looked at Spike in wonderment. Only Logan kept staring at the female vampire. He still couldn't believe that she wasn't Marie, and by all means, no matter how long it took, he would get his answer. If this vampire was indeed Marie, then he would figure something out, because no matter what, he would have Marie by his side.   
  
Now he could only watch as the woman walked away with the other vampire. Logan turned to look at the other X-Men. Jean said telepathically, "Looks like our job here is done. We'll tell the professor about these events and question this Angel for answers."   
  
Scott nodded, and they said goodbye to the people who picked them up. While they said goodbye, they watched as the darkness of the alley swallowed up the vampires Spike and Rogue.   
  
_Fin.   
_   
1-Well, I'm leaving the song blank, but as I wrote this part, I was thinking about "Waiting for Tonight" by Jennifer Lopez.   
2- Think of the dance scene in The Mask.


	3. Phases

**Title**: Phases  
**Author**: miz  
**E-Mail**: animeskuldyahoo.com  
**Category**: Drama  
**Rating**: PG  
**Disclaimer**: None of these lovely characters belong to me, so please don't send the lawyers after me.  
**Archive**: DDFH, WR.com and anywhere that would accept my story.  
**Author's Notes**: I don't know why I continue to go back to this plot line. Might as well continue this plot into having some conclusion. Takes place after "Prices" and "Pact." So this makes it the third part of The P Series. Greatest of thanks and love to LucyJekyll. She's such a great sport and beta! Oh, also feedback is really nicely received.

Several months had passed since their interaction with the vampires. The X-Men had finished compiling a report for the professor and settled back in the mansion to teach. The only one who was still restless was Logan, because try as he might, the features of the vampire Rogue reminded him so much of his Marie. It was nearing the anniversary of when she had disappeared, and it had been nearly sixteen years. Looking outside, Wolverine could only ponder where she was—if she was safe or if she was indeed that vampire, because if so, then no matter what, he would try to win back her love and hope that she would forgive him for what had happened years earlier.

-----

On the other side of the country, a large mob with flashlights and shotguns surrounded a battered and bleeding young girl. The girl's powers had recently emerged, and the people she had known for years had instantly turned their backs on her. She was only thirteen years old. Katie could only cower and look from the angered face of her father to the tear-filled face of her mother. She didn't mean to do what she had done, but it was purely out of self-defense. Billy had meant to rape her, so why did they blame her? And now she was in pain and shock at the betrayal and what was now happening.

"How could you be my child?" asked her father, seething with anger and hurt. In his eyes, she was no longer his daughter, for she had become demon's spawn.

"Dirty mutant whore!" screeched a woman in the back of the crowd.

"You have no business harming one of our own, so why did you seek to hurt him by beguiling him with your looks?" demanded Billy's father with anger, as he pointed at his shaking son in a wheelchair.

The mob started to grow even more angry at the last comment and moved forward with the intent of lynching the dirty mutant—that was, until someone said quietly, "Now, what sort of business is this, a large crowd of ignorant humans looking to kill a child who is the same as them, except in the sense of genetics?"

Katie tried to see who spoke these words, because everyone stopped and turned to see a woman standing behind all of them with her arms folded across her chest, wearing an outfit of black.

"Who are you to say that? Not unless you're just like this whore here," said a man in the mob with a sneer.

"Actually, I was passing though this backwater town and saw what was happening. Even if she is, as you say, a mutant, then she still has the right to live, and if you all can't accept that fact, then what's the use of your existence on this earth? There are many other things worse in life than a mutant. If you're all ganging up on this girl, then I would say that you're no better than pigs and animals."

"Shut the hell up, bitch! Who asked you for your opinion?" cried the man, stepping forward to punch the strange woman, but as he raised a hand to strike her, she caught it, and the sounds of cracking were heard as she held and twisted his hand.

The man fell to the ground in agony, holding his mangled hand, screaming in pain. Rogue kicked him out of her way as she walked forward, intent on saving the girl. She knew that this was none of her business, but somehow this scene reminded her of when she had discovered her own mutant qualities, with the entire town turning against her. She didn't want the girl to end up as she had, on the road alone, traveling and living a life of utter misery, when the girl could have so much more.

"Excuse me, but I'm taking this girl no matter what threats you all make, and then you can all continue to live your lives of hatred and ignorance. There are many other things scarier than this girl, and you all will never forget my words, for I am one of the scariest things of all!" Rogue's demonic face appeared, and she started to walk toward the girl.

A path was formed then, when fear gripped the crowd. The scared townspeople cleared the way for Rogue, as the remaining people stepped back in fear and silent anger at what had happened. She extended her hand to Katie, her eyes slowly coloring in shades of gold. Rogue mentally commanded her to stand up and follow her. Katie did so woodenly.

Rogue then turned to the parents. "You two are no longer fit to call her your daughter, and I shall see to it that you'll regret turning your backs on her when she needed you the most.

"Come, I'll get you fixed up, and you'll be okay," were the parting words everyone heard as she and Katie appeared to melt into the darkness of the night.

With vampiric speed, Rogue picked up Katie and ran faster, becoming like a shadow. Soon she reached the mausoleum she called home. Rogue kicked open the door and stepped inside.

"Spike, get your undead ass up here! I need the first aid kit, and hurry up!" she shouted, putting down the girl on top of one of the stone tombs.

"What's the emergency, love, and why do I smell blood? Are you okay?" called back Spike, his voice coming from the lower level of their home. He stepped up to the portal and was surprised to see that Rogue had someone with her, someone who was bleeding and obviously in thrall. He smelled A-negative blood.

"Okay…you better tell me what happened and get her out of thrall as soon as she gets her wounds fixed."

"That's what I'm doing," snapped back Rogue.

As Rogue cleaned the girl's wounds, she bit down on her own finger and started to use her blood to close the long, bleeding lines. Hurrying up, she was resigned to know that the wounds would scar the girl's back. After she finished up, she stared long into the girl's eyes and unlocked her from the thrall. The girl's eyes glowed black and then closed in clear exhaustion.

Rogue hadn't meant to keep her in thrall for so long. Normally, thralls were only supposed to be a minute or two until the vampire fed, but if left alone for a long time, the person under the thrall could become comatose.

Sighing, Rogue turned back to where her sire was tapping his fingers against his arms impatiently, with his scarred eyebrow arched.

"Spike, the girl's a mutant, and a mob surrounded her. That's all I know. We'll have to wait until she wakes up."

"Why did you save her, then? You've never showed that much concern for the species that you were before."

"I know, but she reminded me of myself when I found my mutant powers and the way the whole town turned against me!" replied Rogue, thrusting her fingers through her hair nervously.

"Then do you want us to be discovered, when we have such a target in our home? You and I can still pass off as normal human beings, but a mutant is a bit too obvious for words to say. Marie, can't you take her elsewhere? Because she sure as bleedin' hell can't stay here. Now, do you want me to warm up some food for you? What do you want—O or AB?"

Rogue stared back at him, a little miffed—first that conversation, and then this? She had nearly growled when he used her former name, but instead, she grumbled, "Never mind that…. It's midnight now, and I need to get her to New York. Do we still have Angel's plane?" She continued to look at the girl. She would have to be sent to the Xavier Institute. For all the good it didn't do for Rogue when she was there, maybe this girl would have a different future.

Rogue had known that Spike wouldn't care for this kind of business, but what was there to be said, if the girl didn't make it on her own to Charles Xavier as soon as possible? She would have to take the girl herself, before she woke up and Rogue had to explain why she was in a tomb.

Spike shook his head in the negative and said, "I'll go call the poof to send the plane over. It won't take long until the thing comes. Will she still be unconscious when it comes?"

"I'll see to that…. Can you also have Angel notify the professor that I'm going to bring a young mutant?"

"Can do that…" replied Spike, as he picked up the phone and punched in the number that would directly connect him to his sire. He spoke in murmured tones as he watched his childe connect a fluid drip to the mutant girl. The drip was to ensure that the girl would stay asleep, as well as to provide nutrition for the mutant. Spike hadn't known why his childe insisted upon having this in their first aid kit, so now he knew what it was for—premonition if they ever had a human to help.

After seeing that the girl was securely settled, Rogue went off to change out of the bloodied clothes she had because of the girl. She was feeling very hungry at the moment, but that would have to wait since she needed to take a shower also.

After she showered and dressed, she picked up the girl and started to walk out, but just as she was leaving, Spike threw her a blood bag, a small pack of hygiene items, and a cell phone. He said shortly, "If you're really hungry, then take this. It's not much and may not satisfy your demon, but it'll hold you for a short while. I don't want you going into a bloodlust, since I've noticed that you haven't fed in two days. Call me when you arrive in New York and when you're coming back. Hurry back if you can."

Rogue could only nod and walk to where the plane had landed.

-----

At the mansion, it was two in the morning when the phone rang. Wolverine was in the vicinity of the phone, so he was very surprised to hear that the voice on the other end was Angel, the employer of his previous assignment. Angel was seeking the professor in an urgent matter. Logan knew that the professor would be in his quarters, so he picked up the portable phone and went to seek out Chuck, not knowing what business this Angel guy would be having at such an hour.

Logan watched silently in the shadows as the mansion awoke, with the entire X-Men team at attention. Normally, Chuck wouldn't ask everyone to get up at the same time, in a booming voice that promised consequences if not obeyed. Wolverine didn't know what was up, but it must be important for the professor to react the way he did. The professor ordered them to ready the airstrip in an hour, in preparation of receiving a plane that was arriving at five.

At approximately five A.M., the X-Men on the field heard the noise of a plane approaching. The plane landed, the port opened up, and Rogue jumped out. She wore a black tube top that showed her midriff and highlighted her pale skin, with black leather pants and a long, black leather duster. In her arms was an unmoving girl.

Rogue immediately walked up to Beast and handed the girl to him. She said to Hank in a quiet tone, "Dr. McCoy, don't worry. The drip is to give nutrition to the girl, lest she go into a coma, because earlier I had to place her into a thrall for a while, and she's now sleeping off the effects. I rescued her from a mob that was very intent on persecuting her. It wouldn't do her well if she stayed with my sire and me, so I brought her here. I trust that you will provide suitable accommodations for her."

Hank nodded immediately, taking the girl toward the mansion. Rogue then turned to Professor X and said, "Test for her powers. I have a feeling that it has to do with either her skin or her mind. Now, if you don't need me, then I shall leave."

But Professor X replied persuasively, "Ms. Rogue, please don't mind me asking that you stay as a guest until the night is here. I know the sun is going to rise soon, and it is daytime in California. I would think that you now need to rest, because vampires, as I know, are nocturnal creatures."

"I don't want to be an inconvenience. Besides, if anything, I can sleep in the plane while I go back home," Rogue replied shortly, not liking the direction this conversation was going, since she didn't want to stay any longer than necessary.

"But I really must insist. I am sure that the girl, when she wakes up, will feel very scared of her surroundings, so she might feel comfortable seeing her rescuer and might want to thank you for your services. You may also want to fill up your tank with fuel, and it would be dangerous for you to be out in the sunlight, as I said."

After a brief moment of weighting the consequences, Rogue gave a quick nod; however, she still had to find somewhere to feed for the growing hunger of her demon. Even though she was born from the line of Aurelius, an older and master vampire clan, she was still considered a fledgling and was prone to be more uncontrollable when bloodlust hit. She didn't know why she hadn't fed in the last two days, but her hunger was getting harder to handle.

Ororo led her to a guest room with a bathroom, where she pulled the curtains closed. The storm goddess didn't say anything, even when her feelings were filled with a sense of familiarity at this vampire. She would have to go see the professor later, to maybe try to test her. There was no other way; if she recognized the school, then she was indeed Rogue.

She asked if Rogue needed anything. The vampire shook her head and said no thanks, but as she closed the door, Ororo saw that Rogue's demonic features arose as she pulled a red bag and another small bag from the pocket of her duster. The mutant realized then that their guest must be hungry.

She knew from her limited experience with the mission in California that when vampires feed, it must be at least two or three blood bags, equivalent to about two humans. If Rogue had only one bag, then she might still be hungry, so Ororo walked straight down to the lab.

Down in the medical lab, Hank hooked Katie up to a more stable life support, amazed at the wounds that had healed, especially the ones on her back that indicated where she had been whipped. Jean was typing up reports, and both doctors looked up when Ororo walked in.

"How is that vampire?" questioned Jean. She didn't like the sense of being much in the presence of one, and somehow she felt that this one didn't like her either.

"I need to see if we have several blood bags. I am sure that she is hungry, because I saw her feed from only one bag. Do we have some? Also, how is the girl?"

"I'll go check," Jean said shortly, while Hank replied, "She is stabilized and in good condition. If her condition is like this, then she will wake up in several hours."

Ororo nodded as she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned and saw Gambit looking at her quizzically. "Does the goddess need help from this old swamp rat?"

"That would be nice; can you help Jean with locating extra blood bags?"

"Ororo, that won't be necessary. How many bags would you need?" interjected Jean.

"Three would be good. Then if you don't need help—Remy, can you go find the professor to tell him the health progress of the girl?"

Jean gave her the necessary amount of blood, and Ororo took it, with Remy still following her. She sighed and motioned for him to stay outside as she walked back up to where the guest room was. Ororo realized that Remy might be curious, as with the other X-Men, at this elusive vampire.

Knocking quietly, she walked in and saw that Rogue had taken off her duster and had stretched out on the bed with her eyes closed. Apparently, she had drunk the blood bag and had obviously used the room's bathroom. The female mutant was a bit startled when the vampire said without opening her eyes, "Thank you, Ms. Ororo. You can leave the blood on the table. I'll go see the girl when she wakes up and notify the professor. Also, send my regards to Mr. LeBeau waiting outside. I can smell his cologne from here."

"You are welcome. I shall go tell the professor your wishes," replied Ororo with a small grin, closing the door quietly behind her and walking away with Jubilee's husband, teasing him about his cologne.

-----

The day was starting, and the mansion was filled with the sounds of students getting up and readying themselves for school.

The students who had a view of the front portion of the mansion were startled to see a small, black airplane in the basketball court, and news quickly spread to the rest of the mansion.

By breakfast, there was only talk of the strange airplane outside. Students were speculating to each other about whether this was the admission of a new fellow mutant or if it was some sort of person talking to the professor.

Downstairs in the lab with the machines humming and beeping, Hank and Jean had left to eat breakfast, but the patient at this moment stirred and opened her eyes slowly.

Groggily, she got up and wondered where she was. To her, it looked like a lab. She had heard from the people in her town gossiping about these places where they took mutants to be exterminated.

Slightly panicking, she knew that there was no way they would take her alive. She quickly pulled out the needles, wincing as they tore at the skin on her arm. She saw where they had placed her clothes and quickly hobbled over to gather them in her arms, when she heard a voice. "You know, kid, you shouldn't do that. This is only a medical facility, not one of those labs. I didn't spend my precious time saving your ass to have you leave a safe haven."

Whirling around, Katie recognized the voice of her savior. Rogue was standing in the doorway. Backing away, Katie said in a shaky tone, "Get away from me!"

"A 'thank you' would have been nice, but seems like my saving you didn't warrant anything. Not that I care. I'll go get the right people for you to talk to. Now I can go home in peace. Ciao."

"Wait! Who are you? Where am I?"

"It's not important for you to know who I am, but it's a nice thing to see that you're in a safe haven. This is a special institute and school for mutants. It's safe because of Professor Charles Xavier. He works to protect mutants from harm and persecution. Be careful in what you do, and try to trust them. I'm sure they'll be able to help you."

As she finished saying those words, Rogue walked out the room, nodding as she heard the whispered words of "Thanks for saving me, and I'm sorry for my manners."

Outside in the hallway, Rogue stopped to press the red button that she knew would automatically notify the professor. She walked past Hank and Jean, turning to say to Hank, "Dr. McCoy, the patient is up. You can go talk to her now." She then walked back to the room where she had dozed after getting up to feed from the blood bags that Ororo had provided, then brushing her teeth and falling back into the bed. The only reason she woke up was the knowledge that the girl was awake.

It seemed that when she had used her blood to close up the wounds on the girl's back, it had created a connection between the girl and her. When she got back to California, she would need to get Anya to help her find a spell to nullify this effect. Now that her purpose was fulfilled on her part, she could sleep peacefully and wait until night came. She had already seen the girl, and there was no more reason for her to even talk with the professor. She contacted Spike to reassure him of the situation and that she would leave for California as soon as the sun set. Spike started to purr at his childe, feeling her tiredness through a sire and childe link. Rogue fell asleep, exhausted, and in response to her sire, purring and sleeping on her side.

Outside of the room, Logan paced around, stopping when he heard the sound of purring. Opening up the door quietly, he peeked in and saw that the vampire was sleeping. Sniffing, he walked in and left the door ajar behind him. He observed the woman and inhaled her scent of vanilla. He went over and placed a hand on her cool skin, noting the way that she turned toward his hand.

Everything about her made him more and more convinced that she was the Marie he lost. The intruder several months ago in his room must have been her; now the only problem was to get her to admit it. Knowing that the situation was hopeless at the moment, Logan decided to ask for a vacation from the professor as soon as possible. No prey, particularly if she was his mate, would be able to leave him twice. Even if she was a vampire, he would chase her to the ends of the earth, knowing that there would be all the time in the world. He left the room quietly with that thought in mind.

-----

In another part of the mansion, the professor went down to the medical lab, where he found Hank talking to the girl calmly while Jean drew blood for testing. They learned that the girl's name was Kate O'Brian and she possessed a telepathic mutation, like the professor and Jean. After reassuring the girl of her stay at the mansion, Ororo came up to the professor and said quietly, "This vampire may be more than what we know of her. She may be the long lost Rogue!"

"True, Ororo, I have my suspicions, especially since she knew how to use the telecom system. She kept her name and may have changed her attitude. But there are still similarities, and it seems there is nothing that we can do about it, since she is one of the undead. Perhaps this is the life she chose when she left the mansion more then ten years ago," replied the professor, looking ahead, thinking of reasons why she would do such a thing—dying and then becoming an undead being.

There must have been something that happened in the last few months of her stay at the mansion to cause her to run and, in the process, bump into William the Bloody and have him turn her. Rogue was a student about whom he felt very regretful. If something had indeed happened before she left, then it would be his responsibility to feel remorse.

Everything had changed in an obscure way after she left. Scott and Jean had married shortly afterwards, and Logan became a changed man. He wandered around the mansion on a nearly nightly basis, running from the dreams that plagued his sleep. During the daytime, it wasn't apparent, although he taught his classes with more ferocity. It earned him the reputation of being a brutal, no-nonsense instructor who worked students to the bone with the lessons they were taught. He barely talked with anyone, except to the professor and a few other X-Men. He also obviously made a big point of ignoring Jean and Scott. It wasn't until several months ago, when they met the vampires Spike and Rogue, that Logan started to change back to what he was years earlier.

-----

Later as night fell, Rogue woke up feeling well rested. There was the presence of a familiar smell, but the vampire didn't want to place the identity of that scent just yet. She put on her duster, packed her hygiene utensils, and discarded the blood bags into the garbage. It was time for her to leave.

If she left now, then it would the right timing for her to be back in L.A. for a quick stop at Lorne's karaoke bar; yet as she closed the door to the room and turned around, she was faced with the presence of the Wolverine sniffing around her. Rogue growled at him as she said, "Are you done with your smelling around me? Because no matter what you say, I'm not her, so give up already and leave me alone! Just because I look like her doesn't make me her, so put the identity question to rest."

Logan was about to give a reply, when the professor rolled down the hallway and moved toward them, with Ororo behind him. "Ms. Rogue, I thank you for saving Katie from the mob, and as a token of gratitude, I would like you to accept this necklace as a gift."

Xavier signaled to Ororo to open up a black jewelry box that held a silver chain with an emerald pendant.

Rogue looked at the gift and shook her head as she said, "I can't accept this gift. Please keep it, and just take good care of the kid. I would like to leave now and head back to California. I have to go see a friend, as well as I promised Spike that I would be home as soon as I can."

"That is very unfortunate. It would have been in my greatest thanks that you would accept this gift. If there any other thing that you would like, I will do my best to accommodate your wishes."

Rogue shook her head again as she said, "I don't expect anything. Now if I can be on my way, then it would be the best thing for me. I don't want to waste any time. I need to go see my friend before the sun rises again, so I need to leave immediately."

"All right, I shall have Scott, Remy, and Logan see you out. The plane has already been refueled and is ready for flight," said the professor, clearly disappointed that he couldn't offer any more services. He would love to have the vampire at least be willing to accept his gift, so he could call on her to assist him later, when he would like to have a lecture with the current students about the similarities and differences between mutants and the dark creatures of the night.

"Thanks, but it's all right. I can take my leave alone," replied Rogue, looking ahead to the hallway that would lead her outside.

Xavier was about to say something, when Remy quickly said, "Gambit would be much honored to escort Ms. Rogue out."

Rogue had no choice then but to stiffly nod as she started to walk, her pace quickening. Taking out her cell phone, she dialed Spike and told him of her intent to go to Lorne's bar. Spike agreed and said over the phone, "Right, my pet. I'll meet you there."

Mentally, she wanted to confirm on an aching feeling she had and perhaps get an answer about what was to happen from that feeling.

Outside, Rogue murmured, "Thanks," to Remy as she went onto the plane without a backward glance. She started the plane and set it to auto-flight, mapping a route to Los Angeles. Angel had a registered parking air pad on the top of his law firm, so she could quickly get down to Lorne's bar. It had been nearly three days since she had been away from the west coast, and Rogue was anxious to get back. She didn't want to stay at the mansion any longer. There were too many memories that she didn't want to remember if she stayed there much longer.

The plane lifted off and started course until it finally reached the city of angels. Rogue had changed the piloting from auto to manual once she flew over Nevada. She knew that Angel was still up, so she contacted him to tell him that she was arriving soon and would be at the bar. Rogue wanted the green demon to read her and wanted to talk with Faith about the feeling she was having.

She knew that they would all be in the firm building when she got there, because it was the time of the week when nearly everyone familiar to Angel Investigation and the firm gathered at Lorne's relocated bar in the basement of the building.

Faith was a person who she wouldn't call a friend, yet she was close enough to talk to without any pretenses. If there were any problems, Rogue could go confide in Faith to give her some advice. When she met the Slayer, Rogue had been drawn to her. She found that they had a similar perspective—outcasts, yet still included in the big group, which was how she had felt at the mansion up until the day she left.

Shutting off the plane when she landed on the airstrip, Rogue jumped out of the plane and down the open stairwell of the sixty-story building. She landed on the ground with her feet firmly planted and her joints cracking. Rogue stood up and stepped into the flashy, lighted entrance of the bar. Even if it was in the basement of the law firm, the bar was still opened to the demon residents of L.A.

Rogue went and quickly greeted her sire and grand-sire. She noticed that Gunn was having a heated discussion with Angel about a particular demon that kept turning up—an elusive yet very bad one. But she didn't heed much of the conversation and ordered a scotch on the rocks to sip while waiting her turn.

After several awful renditions of songs such as "Toxic" and "Beautiful," which were all literally glass-shattering, Lorne wisely put it on the tab of the singers. It was Rogue's turn. She safely sang Celine Dion's song, "Then You Look at Me." [1]

Lorne immediately stood up when the clapping was over to talk to Rogue.

"Sweets, beautiful rendition you had there. Warms my heart to know that there are still singing gems among the demon population."

Rogue patted the host on his back, not really at all sympathetic to his plight of listening to amateur singers.

Lorne nodded and then said, "It's okay, sweets, this is my bar, and I chose this to be a karaoke bar for spying purposes. I read demons, and if there's any problem, I can go notify that terrible singer over there who owns this building. Now as for your readings, I hear and see that you're feeling a huge amount of hidden fear. Then again, that's not the purpose that you seek now. For the answer to your problem, I only have to say, face your fears, otherwise the feeling you have will come about as something bad."

Rogue was still not too sure about this reading, so she went over to where Faith was lounging while Oz was playing darts with Robin. Faith saluted a half-filled glass of whiskey toward the vampire. Rogue gave a small nod of greeting and waved to the two males standing near Faith.

"Faith, I have questions to ask you, regarding this uneasy feeling I'm having. Can you help out?"

"R, I heard the reading that the demon gave you, and I would bet this fine glass of Jack that it's connected back to the east coast, so I would advise you to get your undead fine ass back to New York. I would suggest also, back up with Spikey and Angel…."

Hearing Faith's comments, the vampire turned and walked to where her family was sitting.

-----

Katie was let out of the medical lab. Ororo assigned her a room and gave her a small list of rules. She was appointed a time to meet with the professor. When Ororo finally left her alone, Katie gave a small smirk as black pools of energy started to emanate from her arms and hands. No one would have known that Katie O'Brian wasn't who she said she was.

In a small sunroom, Ororo was taking tea with Charles; they looked up and saw black clouds forming outside. The winds were also picking up rather rapidly.

Charles turned to Ororo with an arched eyebrow in question, but Ororo only looked back with confusion.

"I think it is best if we go in, then, Charles."

"True, although it is unfortunate, to have such weather ruin our sunny teatime."

"Do not worry, darling, we can still take tea in your office. That is where we normally take tea, after all."

The professor could only sigh in resignation as Ororo picked up the tea service to move toward his office. Before they could step into his office, though, shrill, red alarms started to sound throughout the mansion.

-----

Rogue spent several minutes conversing with Angel and Spike when she realized that the whole reading, with the girl being involved, might be about Kate O'Brian. Not at all inclined to go back to the mansion alone, she was about to ask Spike to go with her. Looking at her sire, she saw that he had nodded a signal. Angel and Wesley immediately moved toward them, indicating their involvement in this situation as well.

As a precaution, Angel grabbed a sack of weapons and got up to the roof as quickly as possible. He then set course straight back to the mansion and used a feature that was used in extreme situations. Turbo engines that existed within the plane's features were activated, and the normal six-hour flight was accelerated to only an hour ride. The plane also had a stealth function, which was very handy for situations of high emergency.

Fastening their seat belts, three of the four passenger left the driving to Angel, who gave them all a disgruntled look, as Spike only smirked at his sire. Wesley started to flip through a small book, making notes; Rogue only looked outside the window as she saw that the sun was going down. She settled back to wait until they reached the mansion before anything bad happened. The tingling sense that something bad was happening heightened the nearer they got to the mansion where there was actual storm clouds gathering.

-----

Katie's features had changed into a veiny-looking suction creature, as her hair extended out into crawling slimy creatures. Her hands and arms scaled down in to rope like strands and claws. Her legs had also changed shape, as they looked more like tentacles being extended out.

She started to slide toward the door and blasted it open with her well-aimed hair.

The first person she encountered was a man who immediately shot a blast of ice at her, freezing some of her hair. She growled and swiftly shot out her claws to hold the man immobile. Bobby was knocked unconscious as she slammed him against the wall. Kitty uttered a stifled gasp as she immediately ran toward him. Screaming for help for her husband, she saw that the other X-Men had immediately gathered and were currently moving toward the creature they had thought to be a human.

_"Foolish infidels, who dares to stand in my way? I'm not hungry at the moment, but I'm very interested in whatever technology this place has. Would it be sufficient to raise the master? Where is the mainframe of this place?"_

-----

The plane reached the mansion very quickly, as a blast resounded through the mansion and the first-floor windows blew out.

"Bleeding bloody hell!" cursed Spike, as Rogue and Angel started to move toward the mansion with vampiric speed. Angel snapped to Wesley to follow him and bring in a spell book that perhaps could vanquish the demon.

The three vampires and the human split up and went in different directions as thunder started to sound in the background, with lightning splitting the sky above the mansion.

Rogue stopped when she saw the students crowding together with Jubilee. Her demonic features surfaced, and she growled toward her former friend, "Get the students out of the mansion, and get some umbrellas while you're going!"

-----

Spike, on the other hand, ran into a large group comprised of Scott, Jean, Remy, Kurt, a crying Kitty, and a still unconscious Bobby.

Jean looked at Spike with anger as she sneered, "If only your 'childe' hadn't brought in that girl, then none of this would have occurred!"

"Well, now, who stuck that stick up your arse? What the bleedin' fuck are you all still doing here? Get out of here. Rogue, the poof, the Watcher, and I will fix your goddamn problem." Spike could then only growl at the woman in anger at the implied insult the mutant had directed toward Rogue.

-----

Angel and Wesley ran into the professor, Ororo, and Remy.

"What is the meaning of this, Mr. Angel?" asked the professor.

Hearing the sound of the demon, Angel said, "Just a simple mistake on our part. It seems that a demon of the Shuir kind has infiltrated the mansion."

Looking up from his book, Wesley added, "The danger of this demon is to copy other organism's memories and powers by the contact of blood. Angel, Spike, and I will fix the problem as soon as we can. Just get out of here, and have plenty of insurance. Nice to meet you, professor; I've heard so much about you."

-----

On Rogue's part, she saw the children safely out and ran to get up to where her sire was. Until midway, though, when something dark slammed through her; her knees buckled to the floor, and she shrieked out a cry of pain as she crumpled over.

Logan was running through the mansion, claws out to corner the thing and skewer it. He heard the cry of pain, however, and quickly rushed over. He was very surprised to see that the person was the vampire Rogue.

Stricken with agony, Rogue could only whimper, "Spike…."

Logan immediately hefted her up and started to walk. Spike saw them coming and was over by his childe in an instant.

"Pet, what happened?" growled Spike, as his demonic features arose.

"Blood…links me with the demon…wanted to ask Anya when I got home," gasped out Rogue, as she winced in agony.

"ANGEL, I NEED YOU RIGHT ABOUT NOW!" yelled Spike, as he took her into his arms from Logan.

"Little one needs help _now!_" boomed out Spike.

"Spike! Need your help now!" shouted back Wesley, as Angel was knocked backwards.

_"Stay out of my way, Scourge of __Europe__. Don't need you here. Oh, see here. The vampire that got me to where I am. I should say thank you. Thank you for bringing me here."_

Grabbing her back in pain, Rogue could only look at the demon with hatred.

_"Regrets are regrets, sugar, and you have regrets. The biggest one is here, isn't it, Marie D'Ancanto? You and that animal man, right over there with that doctor,"_ said the demon with a smirk, as it transformed to look like Rogue without the white stripe of hair.

Nearly everyone on the scene gasped as they heard the familiar name being uttered and what the words implied, but before the demon could utter another barbed word, it heard a cutting sound and looked down to see hands swiping upward. Sharp nails cuts through its skin, and the demon screamed in pain as it fell back.

With speed that was blind to the naked eye and born of a vampire's instinct, Rogue killed the being that had efficiently ruined whatever pretense or concealment that she had over the mutants in not knowing who she was.

When the demon's body finally stilled from being cut and torn from nearly every angle, Rogue slowly stood up and let the blood run down her body, as her tongue slowly licked her lips. Her clothing was once again soaked in blood that was not hers. The demon had obviously possessed a human in order to have the human blood that her lips tasted.

The pain from her back faded as she killed the thing she had saved from the mob.

She spoke no words but only turned back to Spike, Angel, and Wesley. Wesley was the only one of the three men who was surprised. Spike only held Rogue, looking her over to see if anything had happened to his only childe. Angel looked at the mutants with brooding eyes as the professor, Ororo, and Remy finally came around the corner of the hallway.

Rogue started to walk away with her family following her, wanting to leave behind this part of her past that she was in no condition to face.

"Marie…wait…."

_Fin._

1-Song is from _Bicentennial Man,_ starring Robin Williams, a wonderful movie. Composed by James Horner.


End file.
